WORKERS on the Shropshire Union Canal will be hit by British Waterways' plan to axe 180 jobs across the country.

A 12-week consultation period with trade unions is under way as British Waterways aims to make the cuts by April next year.

The canal, which runs from Ellesmere Port to Wolverhampton, is one of many affected by the proposal although it is not yet known how many jobs will be lost.

The cuts, which are aimed at making the management of the country's 2,200-mile waterway network more efficient, comes after the Government revealed a 15% reduction in its funding.

A British Waterways spokesman said: 'The cuts will affect canals across the country although the number of job losses in specific areas is dependent on consultation with trade unions.'

Job losses will be concentrated among office-based staff.

The restructuring is expected to provide annual savings of £5m, helping British Waterways to meet the financial pressures it faces with the reduced grants.

Union Unison, which represents many of the agency's workers, has condemned the planned cuts.

National officer Chris Fabby said: 'We will fight these job cuts with every means at our disposal and we have arranged an emergency meeting of stewards to draw up plans to do that.'

Every business unit and central department will be affected by redundancies with around one third of the cuts arising from the merger of Central Shires and West Midlands business units.

British Waterways chief executive Robin Evans said: 'I am announcing these decisions because they are essential if we are to maintain our rate of progress.

'I accept that this is difficult news but we cannot be complacent in our management of the waterways network. 'We must constantly adapt and change to the circumstances around us, remaining committed to our vision of an expanded, vibrant, largely self-sufficient network enjoyed by an ever increasing numbers of visitors.'